Secrets
by Liriell
Summary: Collections of short stories about the greek gods and goddesses and their greatest kept secrets. Contains some Outtakes from 'Sincerely Untrue'/ Journey of the Broken Ideals
1. Persephone's Secret

**Title: Secret**

**Chapter Summary: **Hera/Hades/Persephone triangle from the Queen of the underworld's POV

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><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>

Everyone has secrets.

That was the motto of the Olympian Gods. Some of them are not that secret and some of them have stories to tell that no one would expect. But the fact was they _had_ them.

And so, maybe it is recommending for each and every one to think through them first, try to see through the mask they show everyone and underneath the superficial side and maybe, just maybe, you can see what their secret is. But some of them have secrets, so great and vast; that they are hidden with such care and buried with so much pretend that it is beyond you to find them out alone.

And for the start, we would use one that could show exactly what is meant. It is a love story, well as much as love stories existed in the Greek mythology. It is a story, which ending is close to a happy ending, something rare as many know. At first glance, you would think of their story as pure and innocent and romantic and the couple, you would deem as the most happy and stable and close to perfect couple among the gods, almost like in a fairytale.

The story is of course the _Rape of Persephone._

But on the contrary to what you have believed, it is not Hades, who is the main person for today. It the other person, the 'victim' of the story and the other half of Hades, as many call it.

**Persephone**.

The daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of harvest. The goddess, who was once only known for being the goddess of growth, before ascending the throne of the underworld and thus becoming known as the wife of Hades and Queen of the realm of dead. The same goddess, whose name had been Core, before the very same accession.

So, what secret could sweet Persephone probably hide?

Everyone assumed that she was happy and she enjoyed the best marital life among the brothers. And she even loved Hades back, that was no secret. And if you asked her, then she would even tell you the same. She should and did consider herself lucky; she ended up with a good husband, even if they had a rocky start. It seemed that none of the brothers were taught how to properly court a woman, but it was not as if they had a good role model to offer, actually, they had none. Anyway, compared to his brothers, Hades was the one with true husband material. He was considerate and sweet, he was understanding and never pressuring her into anything and his best trait, the one he could beat his brothers in, was fidelity.

It was the way he smiled, when she, the other woman, entered the room and the way, she could manage him to do things no one else could and even feel. That stupid woman had never been able to do those things. And despite the many token of love he whispered in her ear, the many gifts he put into her hands and despite the continuing oaths of love he made her, she knew that she could never be compared to the other woman.

When her name was mentioned, he would smile and praise and compliment her.

When her voice was whispered, he would twist his head into the direction it came from, only to turn away quickly, acting as though nothing had ever transpired, confusing the others around him, as they wonder why of all sudden, he turned so quiet, quieter than normal, so consumed in his own thoughts. Just as she herself wondered, if anyone ever noticed the short flash of regret behind his eyes.

If the time came for her to return to her mother, he would take her in his arms, whispering her words of reassurances and planting kisses on her forehead. And when she would come back, he would take her in his arms once again, and once again, whispering into her ear of how he missed her and other consuming words.

She would feel the happiness and relief rise inside her, knowing and having seen the passion he bore for her and that it would never wave and in this small moment, she would believe that it will always be hers, as it had been always her in the past.

However, those small moments of happiness and serenity, will soon be disturbed, once the other enters the room. She would stand beside him, her eyes too, landing for one second on her, but on the contrary to him, she would look back to him and this was when she would notice the small smile that had crept on his face. This smile of his was rare; it was of a kind that she had never seen before. And she would also notice that his eyes _never left _her. It made the impression that it was natural order for his eyes to be glued on her and both women would go around, smiling and pretending, as if they never took notice of this, as if they were as oblivious as men. The moment she disappeared from his sight, intentionally or not she did not know, his eyes would frantically search indirectly for her. He was calling for her, even if no one besides her noticed it.

No one did.

And she would act, as though she belonged to them, too, but even if she tried to act like this, and believe me, she tried, yet the ache in her heart prevented her from believing her lie, always reminding her that the pain she was feeling, was the proof of the reality she was caught in.

She wondered what he was doing right now. The time came again, for their temporal goodbye and like always, he had taken and held her tightly in his arms, and she tried to ignore the fact that it was not as tight as before or simply shrugging it off as his acceptance to this act, just like she tried to ignore the fact that unlike any other time, he did not whisper anything about her return. And like always she pretended to not notice.

She had not noticed how he did not hold her as long as he usually did.

She had not noticed how his lips did not meet hers, but rather her forehead and how even this did not linger more than their actual kiss.

And she imagined how he would stay there a little longer; looking at the same spot he had last seen her.

And here she was sitting, starring into the pond, whose water was consisted of such clarity, incomparable and unimaginable in a humans mind. She saw her own reflection in the water that acted as good as a mirror possibly could, and the Queen of the underworld could not help but hate the sight of her appearance. She despised how her softly curled light brown hair, which could almost be deemed as strawberry blond and the way Helios' rays played with them and engulfed them in bright light. She disliked her fair complexion, which was quite unusual in her southern homeland and once used to contrast her from all the other goddesses besides a few handful ones. But most of all, she hated her eyes. The light brown eyes, which once shone with innocence, were now disdainfully narrowed.

Her mother loved them; she would always used to praise them, and proudly claiming it to be a trait of her heritage, for it resembled a deer's eyes. And she liked them, too.

Her husband loved them, as well.

_"What was the first thing you noticed of me?" _she had once asked.

_"Your eyes."_

He said he loved them. And she loved them, too. But now, she _hated_ them. Because her mother had been wrong. They did not resemble the eyes of the deer, but rather they were ox-eyed.

How long did it take for her to notice this? Was it just her, who had been ignorant towards the truth? Had everyone else seen the resemblance between her and Hera? Had anyone ever suspected what she had already confirmed for herself?

She had never felt so humiliated.

Sometimes, when it became too unbearable, she wished that she had followed her mother's advice and left him, when she had the chance. Now she was irrevocably tied to him, through the bond of matrimony, as well as the bond of two hearts. Well, at least her heart was bound to his. She doubted that his heart was as much as hers, as hers' was his'. Surely, he would leave her the minute the other woman would become free and judging from the recent events, it will not be long for that day to arrive.

But in the end, all that she can do is sit here and complain in silence.

Because she was ignorant, and even when she was not so anymore, she continued to be. She had closed her eyes for too long. And yet, still, when anyone ever asked her what she was thinking, she would not change her answer. Even now, when everyone knew what is going on between the two of them, she will remain the only one, who was ignorant.

Because she loved him too much.

Because she was too prideful.

Because she had the eyes of the ox.

And it will be her secret, even if it was none for the others.


	2. Themis' Secret

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything.

**Summary**: unrequited Themis/Zeus, Zeus/Hera, triangle Themis/Zeus/Hera

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><p>Everyone has secrets.<p>

That was the motto of the Olympian Gods. Some of them are not that secret and some of them have stories to tell that no one would expect. But the fact was they _had_ them.

Those stories varies from unsuspecting little white lies, some were deeply buried among the memories, and to ones pushed back into the farthest corner of their mind for they were desired to have never happened and some were cherished ones whom the person never wanted to share it with anyone.

Themis possessed all of those, but had merely one story to tell.

Her story was something she wanted to share with everyone and yet held back, because she was too selfish and too proud. She had buried it among the many memories in her head, yet wanting to forget and wanting to hold on were what she was never sure of. Every day it was something else and it was never constant enough for her to decide on one of those.

But she had accepted it. Because this was what it was about.

Acceptance.

She knew people were curious as to why she never fought for the man, everyone **knew**, she loved, just like no one could ever understand why she would ever love someone, who was never in love with her from the begin with or at least in love with her enough to treat her well. And above of it all, no one ever understood why she could ever be so polite to the woman, who had snatched her husband away from her own hand.

But she did.

She had resented Hera for what she had done, jealously watching and envying her in secret. She did wonder why she was never enough for Zeus to love her, even to the tiniest bit compared to what he felt for Hera, because just this little bit would have been enough for her and lastly, she knew, she did fight. She had fought tirelessly and bitterly for her marriage.

But in the end, she had realized, she grew tired and things already turned bitter and could turn even bitterer, if she would not stop fighting. In the end, she was forced to accept that whatever she was fighting for, was not only **not** worth fighting for, but furthermore was something she was not able to fight with.

Themis may be pretty, beautiful and gorgeous by human standard, possessed a fair character, a claim that not every God might be able to claim and a gracious smile, but **never** would she be able to compete with Hera.

Hera was beautiful, by heavenly standard, she possessed fire, something that fairness might be able to compete with, but in contrast to Themis' fairness, Hera's fire, her personality and her prideful modesty, was what Zeus wanted and needed, and lastly, it was Hera's smile, which was, when she truly smiled from within, brighter than perhaps Helios during his best days and more mysterious than Oceanus' sea during a misty day, seducing whichever seaman who dared to explore this ocean and to never let go, even if it meant to pay for it with his life.

Some people still asked her, no, they liked to imagine, that if Themis had the choice, if she had knew that day Zeus wanted to visit his little sister, he would return with neither a heart nor mind, because both were in the possession of a goddess he wanted to make his wife, she would have never let him go. The truth however was, she would have, even if or even more like because she **knew** of the outcome of this encounter. Because no matter what she knew might befall her, she also knew what would become of Hera and Zeus.

For any man, and perhaps even some Gods, she might be fine, even perfect, but Zeus was not one of them. For someone like Zeus, only someone like Hera would be the perfect partner. She was not only what he needed and craved, she was just… meant to for him. They were meant to for each other. Their personality crashed and never caved in and just like waves crashing against rock, because this was what they were, unwavering and never backing down, they would someday shape each other into forms that would be perfect for each other, they would turn each other into pieces that were perfect for _everyone_.

Perhaps she had known this even the day he first came home, later, much much, so very much later than he had promised her to. It was fine with her, because she was used to his… wandering interest, although she was a bit confused, for when he had made his promise his eyes had this certain twinkle that made her heart skip a beat faster because it meant that she was shining in his eyes and his love for her had risen again. But like she said, it was fine with her, because she never had any expectations for him. It was okay as long as he was there at all, as long as he loved her.

Little had she known that not even that would last.

Days continued to pass and even though he was there, like she had always wanted and showering her with gifts, a part of her knew that she no longer possessed his love and even if she did, it would not be for long and even more dreading was the thought, which would be confirmed far too fast for her liking, that she would never again have it.

Surely, you wonder how she had deduced this. It was simple. There were many signs telling her the truth. Like whenever they talked and something, anything that was funny or deserved a to be smiled happily upon happened, which would lead her to take his hand into hers like they always did, he may smile back at her, but he would still withdraw his hand from hers and sometimes, he would quickly turn his head away. Or he would just turn away from her and gaze broodingly into the clouds.

At first she clung onto the dismissal with which she met those signs, believing or actually not believing that there might be someone new in his life, someone who dangerously possessed his thoughts far more than any other woman had, if he spent (deliberately ) so much time with her. She realized later on how stupid it had been of her to try to dismiss it, since she should have realized that he had not acted out of love, but of guilt. Up until then, he may have felt infatuation for some creatures, but never to an extent that he wished for their presence over hers.

Themis remembered the first time she had seen Hera. Zeus had taken her to Olympus, in order for her to 'to grew closer with her family members', 'to deepen their bonds' and 'to get used to her birth right'. Never would she had guessed what was hidden behind those words, that there lay much more behind them than she had actually guessed, of course, despite how dense she may appear when it came towards her, she knew, the moment she lay eyes on Hera, that there was a high possibility that she was the reason.

That beautiful goddess, whose presence, as or maybe even despite the innocent of hers in the beginning, was demanding attention from everybody around her, almost like a queen, like she knew she would become in the future, who radiated innocence and at the same time shone with an intimidating regality. Even then she had been perfection. Someone, who was equal to Zeus. And whenever she saw them together, hidden behind pillars, covered by the shadow of lime trees or whatever, snickering or making jokes, she always noticed, aside from the laughter, the smile on her husband's face, not those half-hearted, forced, maybe even going as far as to call them fake ones, those he always wore for her sake.

Or perhaps these explanations were just a way for her to excuse her cowardice ways. She knew she could have fought and at times, she wished she had done so. Those were the times she tried to dismiss their relationship, that it had not always been so strong, even dismissing Hera, degrading her lady as an at first inferior threat, had it not been her, who made it easy for her to sped inside.

But in the end, the reality was that she had not and nothing could ever change that now. She had stepped aside for the sake of his happiness, she told herself. She had realized she could not fight against destiny and that Zeus and Hera **were** destiny. She wanted to spare each of them the sorrow and the pain, keep it short and easy.

And then, sometimes, however rare, she doubted it. Could it possibly be that it was not them she wanted to spare the pain from, but herself? Not wanting to learn how easily her beloved could and would discard her, how dispensable she was to him. She did not know it herself.

This would remain a secret, even to her.

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><p>God, it had been so long since I made an up-date of this, for which I must say I am sorry. However, it is my last year of school, hence I am under a lot of stress and even less time for any free activities besides school. And writing this was actually killing two birds with one stone for me, because I am writing English test tomorrow. I cannot promise you anything but that I will try to make new updates.<p>

Love you, and thanks for reading.


	3. Ares Secret

**Secrets**

**Chapter 3:**

Ares knew he had it good in general. Sure, he suffered from losses during battles, had to bear the insufferable Athena, a terrible mess of a family, but the fact cannot be changed that many men would give whatever they have to be just like him. He lived like he pleased, had nothing to care of _and _he had Aphrodite at his beck and call, especially the last one was a great motivation for all. Ares admitted that it was indeed a turn on, an additionally one to her beauty, to be envied by many.

Yet, and though he would never admit it out loud, there was something missing.

Somehow - okay maybe somehow is not the right definition, since he knew exactly when this all started or actually, by whom, but that was another matter- having a hot body to rub on was not enough anymore.

He did not want hot anymore, no rubbing and scratching, no fire. Well, he did want fire, just not the kind he shared with her.

Aphrodite was a great woman, she was hot, she did not care if he loved her. She merely sought out a partner equal to her 'skills', to satisfy her 'needs', just like him and at first, it made them great partners, to the extent he almost believed that something could come out of this, something that was more than what they had both expected, feelings he had not believed he would be able to possess.

For the first time he doubted that he was as impassive and cool as he assumed. And indeed, he was proven that there was more behind him.

Just not by her.

"What are you thinking about?" she purred to him, drawing with her fingertips the lines of his chiseled, yet scar imprinted chest. A thought seemed to have passed her mind, as she began to giggle and look dreamily into his eyes.

"Nothing special." He answered impassively and looked away, avoiding her eyes, knowing the fire behind them that would syndicate how insatiable she actually always was.

"Really…" she moaned and tried to kiss him, however, Ares, able to foreshadow her intention, swiftly threw his legs over the cover and sat up at the edge of the bed.

"It is time to me to go." He declared and began to search for his garments.

"Hephaestus would not return to the next week, he is still busy sorting out this 'family issue'."She explained and made movements in the air to underline her words.

He looked to her with a frown. She was not Athena, but even for their standards, she was not the brightest and those movements did not make it better.

"Stop doing this." He advised her. She pouted, not understanding the meaning of his words.

"Still, you can keep my company until he returns. I feel so lonely and I promise you, you will be awarded." She was now on her knees, not caring to hold up the blankets to cover her form, trying to appear 'argumentative'.

"I am not one of your knaves." He now responded angrily for being insulted like this.

"Of course, you are not. You are so much better." She was now pressing herself against his bare back, and he could swore that the up and down movements were neither caused by the bed, as soft as it was, nor were they unintentionally.

He shrugged her off.

"I just feel so lonely." Again she pouted.

"Is this all what it is about?" he asked. "Don't you have any maidens or goddesses to keep you company?" He especially refrained from the word friends. Everyone knew that her only friends were male ones, if there were any at all.

"Those are stupid creatures trying or failing to keep me entertained, the only one of them I could tolerate would be Hebe, but she is just too self-absorbed with herself. And Hephaestus of course." She rolled her eyes.

"He is trying to comfort and soothe her, he is her brother."

"You are her brother as well, why are you not comforting her?" she huffed.

"I do not do family." He explained and left.

Yes, Aphrodite was great, she hot and wild and she knew how to console man. Alas, he realized, he did not want hot anymore, nor wild or scratching or rubbing or sweaty or rolling around the sheets and consolations for a few moments. He craved for cuddles on nights, in bed that was his own, just having someone in his arm or being in someone's arm with someone who only knew to console him.

He wanted for intimacy. Love.

He wanted _Linea_.

A sphere landed on the trunk, missing the target by inches.

"What are you doing here?"

He had missed the deep sultry voice.

"Don't you dare to take another step."

His memory did her no justice; she was even more beautiful than he remembered her to be.

"I warn you!"

What a great sight she made, standing so strongly in front of her, clad in her metallic warrior garments, stringing tighter on her bow.

"Linea." He whispered her name.

Another arrow was shot, another one missed. Ares made no move, as it landed on the trunk of the tree, no flinch, no wince, just the beat of his heart that made the same sound as the weapon that was meant for him had missed its target.

"Linea." He recognized a certain flicker in her hazel eyes, indicating she felt something for him, or at least he thought he did, since he knew very well how strong the illusion could be on those, who are hopeful.

"Go to wherever you had been. You have no place here." She warned him yet again. And yet again, he did not care. He was far too … happy? He wondered whether this was the right expression. Rarely had he had any use for this word. Yes, he was excited, when he went into wars, ecstatic and gleeful over battles and… not bored when he was with Aphrodite or any other woman. But not happy….

Only with her.

Ares smiled, when this thought, this realization crossed his mind and he was suddenly very assured of his decision, grateful even that he had acted out on his instincts, not that he ever did something else.

"It has been such a long time." With that he began to step towards her.

"Don't you dare to move any farther!" And to put further emphasis on her words, she slid her sword out of its sheath, drawing it directly in front of the man in front of her. Still, he showed no emotions, unmoved by her defiant and violent act, instead he merely touched its hilt with his finger, gently pushing it away.

"You have not changed at all", he remarked with a small smile. She kept her defending pose, ready to attack him at any minute and yet, he was standing in front of her, knowing that she could have pulled him out any day, because it was her. "It has been a long time, firebird." He caressed her cheek softly, his senses getting to know her softness again. With her hazel eyes, she watched his every movement, the sword tightly gripped between her hands. She was ready to attack any moment.

"Don't call me that." She glared at him.

"Fine, Linnea, anything you want." He bent down, intending to kiss her sweet forehead, however, this time, finally, she moved. She took one step back, avoiding his touch elegantly.

"My name is Eira", she told him.

"Eira…" His brow furrowed at her declaration. "You changed your name?"

"Well, this is what happens, when you become a Valkyrie."

"Ah yes, I recall some of those stories Hestia might have mentioned. What a bothersome ritual and even more of a pity in your case, I liked your name. It suited you."

"Well it was either that or I stay dead and I would much rather prefer to be alive, even if it is like this." She had not mean to let it sound so bitter, for in actual she loved her life as a Valkyrie, a life of freedom, free from… anything. But she would have enjoyed seeing him flinch and flinch he did.

"What does it mean?" he asked, distracting from her words.

"Why should I tell you?"

"I went all the way here, just to see you. Do you not think that you could at least give me that much, if you don't want to let me kiss you?"

"I would never want to defile myself that had kissed another lips of shameful behavior."

Ares smiled bitterly, when she mentioned Aphrodite, whether in shame or… whatever, he did not care.

"So, your answer is no, then?"

"I never asked for you to come here, actually, it was quite the opposite, if I remember it correctly."

"You might have mentioned something like never wanting to see me again, since the last time we saw each other, … but it has been such a long time ago that not even I know it for sure anymore."

Actually, he still knew those were the last words he had heard her alluring voice whisper with anger and hurt that if he dared to show his face to her again, she would not hesitate to stab her sword directly through his chest and take his heart, if he possessed one, out and other menacingly things that made him cringe.

And it was because of her hurt, of his own and because he knew that she could do it, since he could never dream of ever attacking her that kept him from her.

"And why exactly are you here then?"

"I wanted to see you."

He admitted it so freely, so easily that she might have laughed out loud and maybe she did, she could not remember, because the next moment she looked at him, his serious and pleading, but most of all loving eyes made her fury blend out everything.

"How dare you!"

She threw the dagger she had hidden in her boot at him.

"I was telling you the truth," he said, easily dodging her weapon.

"And you think I should feel flattered by it now, do you? My, how gracious of you to feel the desire to see me, for what exactly? To pity me, oh poor girl, whose heart I have broken and died because of me. Now that I stopped screwing my brother's wife, maybe I should visit her and see the poor soul?" she mocked him. "You are such a bastard."

"Your death…"

Her eyes widened the moment he voiced out those two words. She realized that in her fury she had said something she had never wanted to say in his presence and she abhorred the thought that he would refer to it.

"Just don't."

"Lin-"

"I told you don't!"

At her reluctance, he stayed silent. But she saw, she saw the look in his eyes, screaming at her, loudly filling her ear with his pleading and begging eyes.

"There is nothing you can do or say now that would change anything," she muttered.

"I am sorry."

"Why would you think that?" Her voice was sarcastic, yet in denial and Ares longed to know what she truly thought about him.

Now was the moment of truth, the real reason why he came. For her.

"I had loved you," he said even though he used up all of his courage, it was just the half-truth. If he would have truly been courageous, he would have put it in a different time.

"You abandoned me," she scoffed.

"For your sake. It would have been dangerous, my mother-"

"Don't push it on your mother! She would not have done anything, it's you."

"Aphrodite…, Athena would have-"

"Don't blame it on the women in your life. Just step up for something in your life for once. You owe me the truth!"

Because even though she would never say it out-loud, she was still wondering. She will always be wondering, as she had always done, the moment she opened her eyes and became who she is today.

Maybe even earlier, she considered. Maybe it was not just that time, but when she opened her eyes and realized that he was not there with her, that he never was.

"Why? Why did you become a Valkyrie?"

It was not a mistake, not a regret, but it was so much more than shame.

He knew what it meant.

By becoming a Valkyrie, she destroyed every chance of them being together. Every being, no matter what, was forbidden to fraternize with someone out of their own religion and background. There were many taboos in their realm, in each, but this was the ultimate one that was never broken, it was the unwritten rule everyone obeyed and did not question or not even consider questioning it.

By becoming a Valkyrie, she had become out of his reach.

"Why not? After all, who would not grab at the chance of another life? An immortal even. Why would I refuse such an offer?"

"You aren't like that, you don't care for immortality. Those are people, who have something to regret!"

"And you think I am different?" she asked him mockingly.

"Yes, yes I do. I know!" Ares insisted, his mind going back to the times with her, every word, every whisper, every noise and every silence ringed in his ear.

"You do not know me."

"I do!"

"This conversation is meaningless. Go!"

"I will not-"

"You have trespassed the border, whilst without any attendance of any divinity of this realm and neither do you have received the permission, therefore-"

"You know I don't care about that."

"Fine by me if you have a death wish, I will not hesitate calling upon every Valkyrie in the vicinity."

"And you know why you will not? You can call as many as those chorus girls as you like, I will still be the God of War," he smirked, remaining calm, even though she was pressing a dagger to his throat.

"Be careful what you are talking about or one of those 'chorus girls' might do a slip-"

"I am not Athena, but I know a few things about the Holy Rules as well. For example, by status, you will be committing a bigger crime if you even shed as much as a drop of blood of mine."

"You illegally trespassed our borders, which makes you fair game."

"You want to bet on it?"

She was so close. He could even look into her beautifully icy eyes, thus seeing the waver that appeared for a short moment in her eyes.

"This is a question of justice, therefore, I would rather leave it to Themis to work with that."

Slowly, she let the dagger fall down, however, she was still gripping on it with a firm hold, ready for any occasion that she might have to use it again.

"Leave"

"Not before I get my answer."

"What is it?" she asked in frustrated sigh. She was getting tired of all of this. She knew that someday he would come, maybe even asking questions as he did now, but she would have never been able to anticipate the amount of calm she might need for the stress he brought along, nor the amount of ache inside her body.

"Why did you become a Valkyrie?"

She heard the question, whilst every other sense told translated it to the real question.

She laughed out-loud.

"As always, it is just about you."

"That is-"

"the truth. You want to know why I did that. Why I am punishing you. Why is she doing this to me? Why is she doing this _for_ me? Me. Me. Me. Me. Me."

"Is it true?"

"What do you think?" she asked him in return. She laughed, as he failed to answer. "You better leave now, for both of our sake, but really, just for me. The urge to kill you is getting harder and harder to resist."

"Don't hate me."

She had not expected this kind of reaction. Cautiously, she eyed him and for the first time, when her eyes were not clouded with resentment and pain, but rather wonder and curiosity, she finally realized the pain in his eyes.

It did look like he was in pain. His expression was sad, in a way she had not seen it before. Maybe it was the amazement at the sight in front of her or maybe it was pity, maybe there was more behind it, but she acknowledge that she felt for him.

"I do not hate you," she told him. He scoffed, but not at her, she knew. "Maybe, for the first time, you should believe. I have never lied before… you know that."

His wary eyes starred at her, a different wonder, a different amazement in his jet black eyes.

"I would hate me."

"You abandoned me, that is true, but you are not to blame for my death. If it has to be anyone, it would be me," she saw that he wanted to protest. "After all, I was the one, who was stupid enough."

She did not amplify exactly what.

"You were never at fault, you never was, you… I-"

She detested his words, he way he spoke them, to her and most of all, the way his eyes followed her every move, seized her and just adored her as though there was something to regret.

"That does not mean that you do not disgust me," she said.

Ares nodded.

Of course, what was he supposed to believe?

Of course she was. Just like everyone else. His father, his brother... _her_.

"No other reason?" he continued to ask, in hope for... _something._

"I wanted to see you again," she revealed, desperate enough to hope that it would satisfy him enough to make him leave. "I thought, even if it was just for one second that I get to see you again, even if we had to be separated forever... it would be worth it."

"…"

"But you never came, years passed, years turned into decades and decades turned into centuries and centuries turned into sands, yet you never came. I knew, you knew what had happened to me, but you never came. I know now, it was foolish of me."

"Linnea"

Now that she bared everything to him, it felt better. The pitch of resentment and bitter lump in her seemed to have disappeared or at least, they felt lighter, easier to carry and her hope that someday it might disappear altogether grew a little again.

"It is Eira now."

"I am sorry," he said. "I had wanted to come."

But he had not.

"It's not our wishes that defines us, it's what we do and what we have done and I have seen enough of what you can do, believe me."

The only thing she regretted was the bitter regret and pity in his eyes. She never wanted his pity or regret, she detested it more than anything. Nothing could change it!

"In a way, I must thank you, for if it had not been you, I would have never become what I am today, a proud Valkyrie and I would not trade it for anything else in the world... not anymore."

"I am here **now**."

"And you think that it would change anything?"

It was an honest question, one voiced so gentle that Ares believed he heard something break.

"Does it not?"

She laughed.

"Well, indeed, you are here. But somehow, I am still a Valkyrie, you are still a Greek God, arrogant, brazen and assumptious as ever, and just as naïve as before. I still do not want to see you," she admitted honestly. "Ares, do you really believe it would change?"

"I wanted-"

"You being here does not change a thing!" she told him. "It does not change the fact that I had become a Valkyrie, that I would never be with you! I am not even sure whether I want to! It does not change the fact that the sight of you disgusts me, nor does it erase the years I spent waiting for you in vain, that I traded my peace and serenity for you and that by doing so, I had lost who I was before. It does not change the fact that you broke my heart!"

It was the first time she ever referred to it.

Something had changed the moment she said it.

Maybe it was because it made the truth clear to him, when neither of them were able to deny it now or maybe it was just the cruel, harsh reality that took him back. Either way, it was not the heartbreak that hurt him the most, after all, after years he had begun to not even notice it anymore.

It was the shame and the disappointment he felt in himself that struck him the hardest, the moment she uttered those words.

That and the realization that it was truly over.

"I…" He said it time and time again, in his words, his eyes, his heart and head, in the past, in silence, but it never changed anything and even if he said it now, it would still not change anything.

"Thank you."

He turned around, it was time to leave. It was due for a long time. He took a deep breath, wanting to get ready, despite knowing that he would never be.

But then, he remembered something

Maybe…

"You need to know something. I-"

He was not ready to leave, not before he said it. At least that was what he thought and this time, when he did, he wanted to be awake, her eyes wide open and listening to him with a clear mind.

And indeed, he did stare into wide opened eyes, however, it was not the same. It was the exact opposite. It was the first time that he saw fear flash through her eyes, without any warning, any threat and disgust. Almost like how she was back then, but still, he realized, it was different.

She was different.

She was not the same girl he knew anymore, she was far from who she had been back then. His heart ached.

"I l-" Her eyes were begging him and she was right, he did owe her the truth, more than anything, but he also owed her peace, the peace she gave up and for him. "I like your name."

He did not need her gratitude, but it would still feel nice, perhaps it would lighten the pitch and lump inside him that had been growing so steadily that he thought he might burst someday from it.

"Thank you," she said reluctantly and he smiled.

Ares nodded, now, ready to leave and return.

"It means snow."

A man to be envied, that was what Ares was... or maybe used to be? Either way, he was getting tired of fire, of passion. He just wanted...


End file.
